“So Jimmy's okay then?” An elderly woman asked, desperation in her voice. She held a large cleaver in her hand out in front of her, between us and several people bundled up on the ground. They all looked to be alive, but none of them were moving much.
“Jimmy's hurt, but safe. He's being treated back in our stronghold. We came here to get the rest of you out of here and back as well. How sick are they?” I asked, pointing to the bodies on the ground. Behind me, the noise of the door being re-secured filled the room.
“It's alright, Gertie. I think they're here to help. You can put the knife down,” the old man who let us in said, before turning back to me, “I don't like to say it, but I think the reality is they're all circling death's door. Even with you all here, I don't know how we're going to be able to get them out of here through that forest. Truth is, I didn't send Jimmy for help. I sent him to keep himself alive.”
“Norm…” I started to say.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. I know why I'm here. Let's see what I can do for you guys,” Norm said, cutting me off and pushing past Gertie, showing zero hesitation in her knife.
Norm continued to impress me. No matter how scared he was, the moment someone needed help, he went right into action. It honestly wasn't what I expected out of him, but I was glad for it.
“Norm has a class that lets him do some healing. Hopefully, you can get your family up and running at least a little bit while you both tell me just what we're facing out there. From the looks of things, you've been fighting a losing battle since this all started. Is that true?” I asked, looking from the older woman to the man. There would be time for introductions later.
“It's been hell. Things were almost okay back when Robert and Becca could still fight. But even with this magic or whatever it is, I'm just too old to protect everyone here. Our only water supply is a small pond back behind the house, and it's been getting more and more dangerous to even get there. We're nearly out of food. I kinda just thought we were all gonna die,” The old man said, almost collapsing into a chair, on the verge of tears.
I understood what he felt. I'd seen many a family like this. Integrations were hell on everyone, and it was one of the reasons I had held such a hatred for them and everything that came with them.
“It's going to be okay. I promise we're going to get you all through this. What are the monsters that keep attacking you like? All I've seen so far are some small, weird goat-like skeletal creatures and a big red one…”
As I was talking, Gertie collapsed backward, writhing in pain. Her husband leaped back out of the chair, running to her side. “Dammit. You didn't take your meds today, did you?” The fear in the man’s voice amplified as he held her hand.
“I didn't have enough left for me and the kids,” She said weakly.
Norm was by her side in a second, pouring something down her lips. “Drink this. Should help. What's your name, and can you tell me what exactly is wrong with her?” he asked, turning to her husband.
“I'm Gar, and it's her heart. She's on a lot of medication for her heart, and she's been giving most of that to the kids, trying to slow down the effects of whatever is in their system. Dammit, Gertie, you can't die now, not when we’ve got an actual chance at being rescued.”
“Yeah, that's kind of what I figured. Gertie, I want you to stay here on the ground and just rest. What I gave you should strengthen your body. You're probably going to feel a lot stronger than you have in a long time once it works itself through you. But I don't want you to push yourself yet. We've got a long trip back to the neighborhood, and I want you to save your strength for that,” Norm said with a surprising gentleness to his voice.
Gar squeezed her hand and looked back at the others, still barely breathing behind them. “What about them? Were you able to do anything?”
“I got a little bit of drink in each of them. It should give me a better idea of what's going wrong with them based on how they react. From there, I can decide how to keep going. Oh, and this is going to sound weird, but what kind of spices do you still have stocked? Do you have any nutmeg?”
“Uh, probably? We've got a pretty big pantry full of a lot of spices. Hell, if we could've eaten those, we'd be in good shape,” Gar answered, looking and sounding a bit relieved.
“I'm going to raid your stocks. I assume you're good if I take everything I can with me?” Norm got a single nod in return.
Looking here in the house, it became obvious they'd been cannibalizing other parts of it to reinforce this main room. It was a single living room mixed with a kitchen, and it was a mess with tools, nails, and various makeshift weapons. All of the windows had furniture piled in front of them, and the door had at least a dozen different locks as well as a barricade.
“Tom, there's no way we're getting out of here before the sun is entirely set, so do what you can to build up these walls. We're going to have to settle in for the night.” My worry had settled into a harsh reality. There is no way to get these injured people through the forest back to the boat tonight. And to be honest, it wasn't going to be that much easier even if we set out at first light, but at least we wouldn't have the cover of night potentially empowering anything out there.
“Yeah, I've already got a couple of ideas. Hey Gar, I'm gonna tear apart more of the house, but I'm gonna try to make this room hold out for tonight, okay?” Tom said slowly to the man. He had phrased it as a question, but I was sure both of us knew it was happening, whether Gar wanted it or not. Living through the night was far more important than keeping the house intact.
“Yeah, whatever you need. Head up, fight when the monsters come too. There's going to be a lot of them. Once we hear the loud horns, that means the real beasts are coming, and we're going to have to fight them outside the house to keep the walls intact. We learned that the first night. That was when Becca went down. But we all gained something called classes the next day after we managed to survive. So those might help,” Gar replied, standing up from his wife’s side.
“Ash, take Noah and Floof and go take a look outside. Stick as close to the house as you can. Ralph, watch the door while it's unlocked. I'll be out in a minute.” We needed a quick scouting of the area to get a good idea of what tonight was going to be like, and Noah specialized in that. I still had too many questions for Gar to join them just yet.
“We'll stick close, Dad. I promise,” Ash said while Ralph started opening the door back up.
I gave her a quick smile, letting her know I trusted her. Despite that, I wished I could be two places at once. This part of the forest was such an unknown that everything about it had my hair standing on end. It wasn't that I was scared, exactly. It was more that I could feel something coming. And there was just something odd to this entire valley that we hadn't figured out yet.
“So I know you were all probably incredibly confused and scared about what's happening here. But the fact that you're all still alive means you're doing good. What classes did you pick?” I asked, turning back to Gar.
His focus had moved back to his wife, who had sat up, looking much more alert. But upon hearing his name, he turned to me. “I took something called Porch Defender. Gertie picked Voice of Grandma. She said it was fitting. Both Becca and Robert took the same class, Protective Parent.”
I hadn't heard of the first two before, but there were so many classes out there it was impossible for me to know them all. That last one was something I was surprised I never had the option for. But given how it had functions that grew stronger if they were paired with another member of the class, it was possible that was the reason it had skipped me. Had Heather been here, we'd probably have seen them.
I could guess what they both did, though. Porch Defender was likely some sort of Fighter or Paladin-based class, and Voice of Grandma was probably a Bard. Most class names give pretty strong hints about how they worked. At least until you got into some of the extreme rarities like my own.
“And nothing for Jimmy or his sister?” I followed up.
“No, we were worried that they might do something strange. And I mean, they definitely did. I felt different since I picked one. But you know, it's hard to understand what's happening in this world around us now,” Gertie answered, coughs interrupting some of her speech.
Before I could ask more questions, loud barks came from outside, followed by a yell from Ash. “Dad, I need you out here!” I had already been on my way from the moment I heard the barking.
I found them pressed up against the side of the house, Floof growling as they all looked into the woods. Dozens of skeletal bear-like creatures stood motionless, facing the house. These had to have been the beasts Gar was talking about. Why were they already here? There was no way they stood here all day motionless like this. Otherwise, the others could have destroyed them during the day.
“Something's going on here. I don't know what it is, but we're not gonna miss this chance. Let's crush as many of these as we can while the sun's still up,” I said, pulling my sword free and taking several steps across the small lawn, already reaching the beginning of the trees.
“Dad, do you think it's a trap?” Ash asked, still stepping up beside me despite the lingering question.
“Oh, absolutely. I’m entirely sure this is some kind of trap. But I don’t trap easily!” I roared my reply, making sure the unseen watchers heard it all. “This house is under my protection. These people belong to my faction now. And if you don't understand just what that means, more the pity for you!”
While nothing in the forest moved, the feeling of being watched intensified. Whatever was out there had heard me, and I had unnerved it. Good, it was about time.
I swung the sword hard, destroying two of the bear skeletons with ease. Still, none of them moved. What the hell was this trap then?
“Adam, we’ve got more monsters over here!” Ralph called.
“Floof, Ash, go see what Ralph is dealing with. Yell if you need my help. Otherwise, Noah, let's take these out as fast as we can,” I ordered. There were just far too many ways they could be plotting their attack for me to figure out. The only thing I knew for sure was that it was coming.
As I crushed another skeleton, I felt a surge of energy through the runic blade. The sword had grown in power again, and another mana orb had just become available. Socketed into the slot of the guard on the sword was my Shield orb.